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‘Youcould have been killed,’ Nick pointed out. ‘Any of those Buzzers could have taken a chunk out of you. We should have gone back to Naples and reconsidered our approach.’ I glanced away. ‘You took precautions, but I worry you still think your life is expendable.’

‘This wasn’t a suicide mission like Senshield. I know everyone thinks I have a death wish, but it’s not like that.’

‘Tell me what it’s like, then.’

I had to think about that for a while. Arcturus had broached this subject with me in Paris, but we had never plumbed the depths of it. I had been too defensive, too stuck in my ways.

‘I survived the Imbolc Massacre,’ I eventually said, ‘when so many people didn’t, Nick. Not just that, but Alsafi and Burnish both chose me over themselves when they saved me. I have to make my life count for something, the way you want to spend yours getting justice for Lina. Maybe that’s why I push myself so hard – why I take so many risks – but trust me, I’ve no intention of dying before Scion falls.’

‘Or after, I hope.’ Nick pressed my hand. ‘Alsafi and Burnish made that sacrifice foryou, sötnos, not someone you still need to become. They thought you were already worth it. And you are.’

A lump filled my throat.

‘I don’t like the sound of those falls,’ Nick said. ‘Can I give you a check-up later?’ My neck objected to my nod. ‘I wanted to examine Warden, but Terebell wouldn’t hear of it.’

‘Don’t take it personally. Nashira has always refused to let humans study their anatomy, to stop us making weapons that could hurt them. The Ranthen share her beliefs on some things.’

‘Like the fact that Rephs shouldn’t be with humans.’

‘Yes.’

There was a brief silence, during which I poured a glass of orange juice and sipped.

‘Warden did let me take a sample of his ectoplasm,’ Nick said. ‘He felt that since the Sargas have used theirs in machinery, our side should understand it, too.’

‘You must be over the moon,’ I said. ‘Any deductions?’

‘It’s fascinating. I can already make a few observations, like the fact that Rephs don’t seem to have any genetic material that I recognise. It’s like something … carved them into being.’

‘Is their blood acidic or alkaline?’

‘It’s neutral.’ A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. ‘I knew you were more interested in science than Evelyn Ancroft would admit.’

‘It’s hardly my fault that most of my teachers were anchorites,’ I said. ‘I heard that Rephs can’t contract illnesses. Do you think it’s true?’

‘It must be. The human body isn’t meant to be in water for too long. The skin breaks down, the organs fail. Weeks down there, and he just looked asleep.’

I tried not to remember.

‘From what I can tell, his body would obliterate any pathogen that got into it. A virus wouldn’t even know where to start,’ Nick said. ‘I can’t see any way that Rephs could harbour or transmit illnesses.’

Except the one that turned them into Buzzers.

‘That’s nice for them.’ I tucked my hair behind my ear. ‘He’s … all right, then?’

‘I couldn’t see any obvious injuries, but his movements seem very stiff, and he’s lethargic.’

‘They severed him from the æther. That can be fatal for a voyant, let alone a Reph,’ I said. ‘They carry the æther inside them, so the shock is much worse. I don’t think any of them have ever recovered from it before.’ I paused. ‘Did Verca find the Ranthen somewhere to stay?’

‘Ducos did.’ Nick sought my gaze. ‘We all wanted you to be there when Warden told us what happened. He agreed to wait for you. Are you ready to see him?’

I dug my fingertips into my arm until it hurt.

‘No,’ I said. ‘But let’s get on with it.’

15

FROM THE DEPTHS